The Phoenix
by rationalbookworm
Summary: AU. After the Triwizard Tournament and Voldemort returning, being isolated most of the summer and whispered about at the Burrow, Harry isn't sure if his life will ever be normal, if he'll ever be happy. All he needs is someone, one person, to remind him he's not alone. Harry/OC Malfoy/OC mentions of Sirius/OC
1. Prologue - Attic Adventures

**I just couldn't help myself. :/ I've been working off and on on this since junior high (ten years ago) and it has changed drastically since then. Only two things have remained constant. My two OCs. They've changed in details but otherwise have stayed the same. This story was the one that got me started in fanfiction, so I will tolerate flames even less than usual. This is my first baby, and though it's been a while since I've whipped it out and polished it off, it will always be my favorite.**

**For those of you who have read my short one shot, Insomnia, that takes place in an earlier version of this universe, but I may end up integrating it into the story when the time comes.**

**This story will span all of Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts. Yes, eventually I will write one for years 6 & 7 as well. The title I got from a Fall Out Boy song, but the song has nothing to do with this story. It's just a good song. Titles tend to jump out at me while I'm surfing my iTunes. Can't be helped.**

**Disclaimer: JKR owns anything recognizable. I simply am borrowing her characters to have fun with some OCs. I do not make any profit for writing this.**

Eight-year-old Trinity Black squealed loudly as her arms flailed, trying desperately to remove the spider web from her face. The stupid silver strands had come out of literally _nowhere_ just to attack her, she was sure of it. A giggle from her right made her huff and spin around to glare at her best friend, cousin, and now sister.

"It's all your fault, you know," she frowned. "I didn't even want to come up to this icky attic."

Phoenix Van Garrett just giggled again, her green eyes sparkling in mirth as she shrugged and moved ahead, deeper into the bowls of the Van Garrett Estate's attic. They had been up there for what felt like forever to poor Trinity and still hadn't found whatever Phoenix claimed to want to find.

"What're we looking for again?" Trinity sighed, stomping after her playmate. No matter how much she complained, she knew the redhead in front of her wouldn't agree to leave until they found whatever it was.

"I'll know it when I see it," Phoenix called while attempting to scale a stack of boxes.

"Then why am I here?"

"It's too heavy to carry downstairs."

Now Trinity was intrigued. Whatever it was had to be good if her cousin couldn't even carry it downstairs. Since she couldn't help with the search, not knowing what it looked like, she perched herself on a chest shoved in the corner and watched Phoenix rummaged through their family's collection of random treasures. At least that's how Trinity liked to think of it. A huge treasure room.

When she and her older brother, Maddox, first came to live here, the day after their mother was admitted to the hospital in London, she had been unsure of herself, of the people she was now residing with. She had known her mother's brother and his wife very well, but it was still hard to go from visiting once or twice a year to being taken care of by the two adults. Phoenix had been a savior though. The outgoing seven-year-old (they were only a few months apart and the younger had a birthday coming soon – something she never let anyone forget) had taken it upon herself to show her cousin around and stick to her side like glue, especially when they traveled to the hospital to visit her ill mother. Trinity wasn't sure what she would have done without the other girl. Especially when Maddox had taken to sequestering himself off from everyone else. He seemed to be taking their mother's illness much harder than she was. But he also didn't have someone his own age to drag him out of his own thoughts like she did.

"Found it!" Phoenix's call came from under a large pile of musky quilts. Trinity laughed when she saw a hand stick out, waving back and forth. "Help me!"

The brunette slid from her seat and took hold of the flailing limb and yanked as hard as she could, slowly stepping back until Phoenix's mass of dark red hair was visible, followed by her little pixie face, shoulders, and finally her other arm clutching a awfully large leather bound book to her chest. It was so big it seemed to be the entire length of her torso and just as wide. Trinity huffed out a sigh as she dropped the other girl's arm and stood back to watch her scramble to her feet.

"What was it doing under there?" she asked curiously.

"I hid it there," Phoenix smiled widely, showing off the gap where her two front teeth were missing.

"Okay," Trinity dragged out the word. "What is it?"

"A book," she pointed out obviously. "Not sure what it is exactly. I can't open it. It's locked. But you like books right?"

Trinity smiled, thinking of the three trunks full of books that had been carted over from her mom's house. Aunt Siobhan had nearly had a heart attack when she found out that, no those trunks did not hold clothes that her own daughter would no doubt fill them with, but novels of all shapes and sizes. Trinity's clothes had been instead packed neatly into one large suitcase. Uncle Amadeus had laughed heartily before having the two family house elves help him move out the extra dresser from the room and find different bookcases from nooks and crannies around the house to line her room with and house her extensive collection. It had made her feel welcomed, truly at home and part of the family, even if she also felt distant. It seemed none of the people she now lived with read very much at all.

"Yes," she nodded, coming back to the present. "I love books."

"Cool. This could be you homecoming present then. Or something."

Trinity snorted and plopped down on the dusty ground, pulling the book closer as Phoenix sat beside her. A large golden lock held the book firmly closed.

"No key?" Trinity asked, looking to the other girl.

She shook her head, tucking her red hair behind her ear, "Never found one. This place is too big. Besides, look," she pointed to the lock. It was flat and blank, shiny and pretty, but no place to put a key.

Trinity bit her lip in thought. Her hands absently ran over the cover, feeling the bumps of the title and some sort of illustration. Dust shifted under her fingers, only revealing bits and pieces of the picture. Tilting the book away from herself, Trinity took a deep breath and blew away as much of the dust as she could. Phoenix coughed pointedly beside her and waved her hand to dispel the dust clouds in the air. The brunette gave a small apologetic smile before running her fingers over the now-visible picture. It was simplistic and clear, yet beautiful. Two women were kneeling, a rectangular object between them. Each woman had one hand on the object while their heads were bowed over it. A large circle, almost like a sun, surrounded the scene.

"Oh!" Trinity bushed the book off her lap and onto the ground, moving to kneel beside it.

"What?" Phoenix's brow furrowed as she watched her cousin.

"Copy me." When the redhead still hesitated the older girl made an impatient noise and tugged on her arm, "C'mon. Trust me."

She sighed, "Okay."

Together they kneeled on either side of the book, hands folded on top of each other over the lock with their heads bowed. Nothing happened for several long minutes and Trinity could feel her cousin beginning to shift uncomfortably. So slowly she almost hadn't noticed it, warmth began to grow from her palm, resting against the lock, up her arm. She looked down and stifled a gasp at the golden glow that was beginning to surround both her and Phoenix.

"Trin…" Phoenix's unsteady voice whispered.

"I don't know…"

The warmth and light grew until she could feel it throughout her entire body and they both glowed brightly. A click sounded in the silence and Trinity felt a shift under her hand. She quickly snatched it back, prompting Phoenix to the same. The glow and warmth died instantly, leaving both girls rather chilled.

"That was weird," Phoenix muttered, moving to huddle closer to her cousin as the girl pulled the book into their laps. They automatically opened the middle page, frowning at what they found before they flipped through a few other pages, just to make sure. "It's blank."

"I see that," Trinity said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Well that was a waste of time," she huffed, crossing her arms over her tiny chest.

"Wait," Trinity had been flipping absently through the pages until the book naturally fell to the first page. There in plain black letters was a text written in groups of two lines, almost like a poem. Upon further inspection, Trinity realized they even rhymed. But why would the rather large book hold only one page with a poem? It didn't make sense. She nudged Phoenix to get her to look as well. The redhead leaned forward slightly to look and, as if on cue, the two began to read the poem aloud in unison.

_Merlin's blood and Merlin's bone  
__Merlin's magic will atone_

_Evils past and evils present  
__Evils banished from whence they sent_

_Two with power will arise  
__Two will tarnish evil's disguise_

_Daughters of good, daughters of great  
__Will save their home from evil's fate_

As they spoke, another bright golden glow enveloped them, condensing around them until it looked like another layer of skin. It sunk into them, becoming part of them, creating a sort of tingling sensation all over. The girls turned to stare at each other, both realizing that their eyes had begun to glow gold as well instead of their usual green and brown.

"Wh-what's h-happening Trinity?"

"I don't know!" Trinity shook her head, racking her brain for anything that could explain away the weird glowing. "I don't know!"

"Oh my gosh! Look at the book!"

Trinity's head snapped down so fast she was sure she heard a crack. The book seemed to have taken on a life of its own. The pages were flying by, all of them turning over so fast Trinity could hardly catch a glimpse of some words and pictures on the pages instead of the blank parchment of before.

As suddenly as it all began, it stopped. The glow vanished, though both girls could still feel a warm power vibrating just beneath their skin, and the book snapped closed, the lock clicking into place. Blinking, Trinity realized what was once a blank gold lock, now had the image of a large bird engraved on the front. A phoenix. The magical bird her cousin was named after and the pet her mother had given her for her fifth birthday. The phoenix was also a big part of their family crest, the main part. The symbol for the Van Garretts had always been the firebird.

"Girls!" Aunt Siobhan's voice started them, making them jump. "Dinner!"

The girls looked at each other, then down at the book. Silently they shoved it back under the pile of quilts and rushed to the stairs leading to the third floor. Whatever all _that_ was, it would have to wait. Or be ignored. Whichever came first.


	2. Isolated

**Not as many little funny moments this time, but two very important family type moments. And we get a little bit of Harry at the end. For anyone wondering what exactly Trinity and Phoenix have to do with Harry, just wait and see. All will be revealed eventually. ;)**

Something was on her face. She was sure of it. It was small and furry and it was currently lying across her forehead. By the occasionally shifting she could only conclude that it was also alive. Terrific. Something _alive_ was on her face. This was not how she wanted to be woken in the morning.

If she yelled for help, the creature could be startled and take off and they'd never find it again judging by the size. That left only one option to her sleep groggy mind. She lifted her hand slowly, so as not to scare the thing and quickly wrapped her fingers around the fragile body. It let out a startled whiny squeak type noise she recognized and she sighed. Blinking open her eyes, she stared at the tiny, gray chinchilla baby she held above her as it squirmed for freedom. How did it even get out of its cage?

Glancing at the clock above the door, she groaned. It was way too early for this. She grumbled as she swung her legs around till her feet hit cold hardwood. That never normally bothered her. But at five in the morning when she was just woken by a renegade chinchilla baby resting on her head? The cold floor could go to hell.

With her free hand she rubbed at her eyes, blinking until her room swam into better focus. Two out of the four walls were dedicated to floor to ceiling bookshelves stuffed with books of every shape and size, journals and notebooks – some with loose papers sticking out of the top, and the occasional potion bottle with colorful liquids and ingredients inside. Herbs and flowers – some were more potion ingredients while others were only there for their scent – were hung, upside down to let them dry, above the desk beside her bed. An open journal, laptop, and iPhone lay on top of the desk with a few scattered pieces of paper, bottle of ink and a quill. Draped over the back of the chair were a new pea coat and a pair of ballet slippers. On the other side of the desk stood a golden perch with Electra, her pet phoenix slept with her head tucked under her wing. The door to her walk-in closet stood at the end of her bed, left cracked open from the night before with a blue and bronze striped scarf hanging off the doorknob.

Trinity sighed as she pushed herself up off the bed and made her way to the hall. The Van Garrett's three storied mansion was still and silent in the early morning, none of the five other inhabitants stirring quite yet. Having lived in the mansion since her father's incarceration when she was a baby, Trinity knew where all the noisy floorboards were and how to avoid them as she crept down the stairs and into the back den where Aunt Siobhan had dedicated an entire wall to a massive chinchilla cage. The nocturnal animals froze, large ears twitching in her direction as she drew near their metal home. A small portion of the right bottom corner of the cage was sectioned off to give Kala (the female that had recently given birth) and her two babies privacy from the half a dozen other chinchillas. At least until they babies were old enough to interact with the others or get sold. Kala and the non-escape-artist baby sat watching her as she opened the cage door and gently tossed in the one she had decided to name Houdini, for obvious reasons.

"What are you doing up so early?" a tired voice asked, causing Trinity to jump and spin around in surprise, arms flailing out so that one smacked into the metal frame of the cage beside her. No doubt she'd have a bruise there later.

She sighed as she spotted her father, who was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest, his pajama bottoms, bare feet (she'd inherited his intolerance for socks in bed), and mussed hair showing that he'd just woken up. He had a small smile on his constantly animated face, his dark grey eyes twinkling even while they were still slightly glossy from sleep. He was lightly muscled, strong both physically and mentally. He had to be to escape Azkaban and the dementors' kiss.

She still couldn't believe how much better he looked from when he'd first shown up on the Van Garrett's doorstep, hippogriff in tow. He'd looked half starved, cheeks sunken in and veins clear in his practically translucent skin. The old prison robes he'd been forced to wear for years were filthy and tattered, hanging off his shoulders limply. He'd claimed to only be stopping by, in order to see his daughter, his youngest child, having been able to catch his son while he'd been at Hogwarts in a failed attempt to catch the real murderer of Lily and James. He swore he would leave, that they'd never have to see him again, after he said a proper goodbye to her. But Trinity would have none of that, clinging to him and refusing to let him go. She may have been fourteen by that time, but she felt like a little girl again, scared to be left alone without her father. Aunt Siobhan and Uncle Amadeus (her deceased mother's elder brother) and laughed at the man's shocked but joyful expression and promised he was always welcome there, as long as he didn't mind posing as the family's new pet dog whenever they had guests.

"Trinity?" her father's concerned voice broke through her thoughts. She hadn't realized she'd zoned out that long.

"Sorry," she murmured, plopping down on one of the rarely used sofas. "Just thinking."

He sat down next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders so that she could lean against his side, "Worried about school?"

She shrugged. That hadn't been it but it was definitely something that had been on her mind the past few days. At eleven she had decided on homeschool instead of going to Hogwarts with her cousin Phoenix. Her brother, Maddox, had assured her the stares and whispers that would always accompany their presence weren't so bad once the other students got used to them. But after being almost constantly interrogated by the Ministry for most of her life, Trinity wanted a break from the infamy the Black name had given her. She didn't blame her father – it wasn't his fault he'd been convicted of a crime he didn't commit – but she just wanted a bit of peace while she went about her studies.

And she was glad she did that. She would never regret it. Especially after her father had come to stay with them. It had given her the opportunity to really get to know him, to form the relationship she always wanted with him. But now she had no choice. With Voldemort returned and nobody believing it, it was much safer within the castle walls. Not to mention her aunt and uncle were leaving for the year on some sort of secret mission for the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore's defense against the Dark Lord. Her father too would be leaving, forcing Trinity to go where it was safe with plenty of adult supervision.

That didn't mean she had to like it.

"I know," Sirius began slowly. He still wasn't the best at the whole comforting-but-authoritative-dad thing, having been absent since her first birthday. "I know you don't…I mean…"

She giggled quietly, "It's fine, dad. I don't mind going to Hogwarts, not really. I just…I don't know what to _do_. I've never been to a school before. At least not during the year. Phee and I have those summer school courses. But it's different. I don't know how to act around wizards my age. I've only ever been around Maddox and Phoenix. And, well, Draco I guess too, but he doesn't really count. He doesn't even like me."

He laughed lightly, rubbing her arm in a calming motion, "Well, I won't fight you on the Malfoy front. But as for the rest…Just be yourself. It sounds cliché, I know, but if you're anything like your mother, which you are, they will love you."

She sighed, snuggling closer so she could stretch out better on the couch, "But…I've always been on my own. What do I do? What do I say?"

"You'll know," he kissed the top of her head. "No worries."

* * *

Harry sighed, flopping onto the small camp bed shoved to one side of Ron's cramped room. He was used to looks and whispers – he'd been getting them since he joined the wizarding world – but he hadn't ever thought he'd be getting them at the Burrow. The Weasleys, Hermione, everyone he'd met from the Order, they were all supposed to be his friends, supposed to be on his side. But since they'd picked him up from the Dursley's after the dementor attack on him and his cousin, all he got was sidelong glances and whispered conversations that cut off the minute he stepped into the room. He almost wished to be back at his Uncle's house. At least there they just ignored him. They never treated him differently than they had when he was growing up. It may not have been good, but at least he was still the same person to them. He'd rather be by himself with his relatives than surrounded by his so called friends and still feel incredibly alone.

"Harry," a small voice called.

He propped himself up on his elbows to look at the door, biting back the yell his dark thoughts had been conjuring. He had promised himself after that first night when he had taken his anger out on Hermione and Ron that he wouldn't yell at anyone like that ever again. He knew what it felt like to be blamed for something you couldn't control and Hermione's tears always pulled out a lot of guilt in him.

"Are you okay?" Ginny asked, stepping more into the room cautiously. "You ran out of the room pretty quick. You didn't even finish your dinner." She held up a plate of half eaten meatloaf and potatoes as proof.

Harry sat up straight taking the plate from her though he had no intention of eating any more. While he was glad Ginny was talking to him now, and seemed to be the only one not treating him like a pariah, he wasn't in the mood to be around people. And his rolling stomach was definitely not in the mood for food.

"Thanks, Gin," he said quietly.

She hesitated on the threshold, just watching him for a moment. Harry shifted under her calculating stare, but didn't ask her to go. Ginny was one of the few Weasleys who he could actually stand being around right now. He wasn't going to alienate her.

Finally she sighed and closed the door behind her as she walked over to stand in front of him with crossed arms, "Tell me what's wrong, Harry. Cuz you haven't been the same since you got here and Ron and Hermione seem to be walking on eggshells around you."

He pressed his lips together, bristling at the mention of his best friends who weren't acting very much like friends at the moment. He didn't answer Ginny, instead focusing on balancing his dinner plate on a bedside table and falling back on the bed.

Ginny huffed and sat down next to him, "Come on Harry. Don't shut people out."

"I just want to be alone right now, Ginny," he pinched his eyes closed, refusing to look at her stubborn expression.

"No," she snapped. "You've been avoiding everyone."

"Only because they're avoiding _me_!" he snapped back, jumping up to pace the minimal visible floor. The anger boiling his blood made him antsy, restless. "No one will even look me in the eyes. Then there's the whispering! I feel like I'm already at school where everyone treats me more like an object then a person! I thought it was bad at my Uncle's house…" He trailed off, kicking a school trunk he passed and slumping against the wall by the window, as far from the ginger girl as the room allowed.

"Harry…" she began slowly, but the boy could see she knew what he was talking about, had seen it too.

He sighed and shook his head slightly, "Just go back to dinner, Ginny. I'm used to being on my own."

She looked like she might argue at first, but then she nodded sadly and left the room, closing the door behind her. It was for the best really. All of this. It may make him angry and hurt, but everyone should avoid being close to him. Death seemed to follow him like the plague. Everyone he cared about was always in the line of fire when they were close to him. It was best for all of them if they just left him alone. Let the target on his back stay there. As long as they were all safe, he was happy. At least, that's what he kept telling himself.

* * *

**One more little note: Yes, Trinity is Sirius' daughter. No, this will not be a story where Sirius has a daughter that is practically fawning over Harry. My favorite type of story is a slow burn, so get settled in for a long ride, this might take a while.**


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